BaGhetto

I knew that I wanted my first meal on a recent trip to Rome to be in the Jewish Ghetto. So I researched restaurants and had gotten recommendations and made my choice and my reservation. But shortly after we were seated my companion and I had an uncomfortable confrontation with the waiter. We hadn’t ordered food yet and knew that the encounter would mar the rest of the evening – not how we wanted to spend our first night in Rome – so we left. Across the street we found BaGhetto, which was bustling with diners but agreed to seat two people without a reservation.

And here we were greeted by a waiter with a much cheerier disposition, even though he was quite busy and servicing several tables, including one 10-top. When he finally came to our table we mentioned exclaimed how busy he was and he just smiled and said, “I love my job.” What a difference, huh?

Like most of the other restaurants in this neighborhood, BaGhetto is kosher. If you didn’t know that already you’d get a clue from the front of the menu where a directive from the Torah is printed in large letters: “You shall not cook a lamb in its mother’s milk.”

We started our dinner with the Gran Fritto BaGhetto, a mixed platter of fried delicacies including battered vegetables and chunks of cod that also included the Roman specialties stuffed zucchini flower and carciofo alla Giudia, or Jewish style artichoke. The latter is deep fried so that even the leaves of the artichoke become as crispy as potato chips. All delicious and filling.

For our entrees we had the baked lamb and potatoes – no dairy – and Osso Buco alla Romana, a different style of braised veal shanks served in broth with peas.

What started out to be an unpleasant evening turned into a wonderful welcome to Rome.